Career Connections: Alum Ted Brady to discuss how St. Mike’s prepared him for public service calling

Career Connections, an annual networking event organized by Saint Michael’s College’s Alumni Board and the Office of Advancement and Communications, will take place March 6, 2026. Alumni are invited back to campus to participate in a career fair, do “table talks” on topics related to the job search, and network with current students. The signature event connects the College’s very active alumni base with Purple Knights looking for internships and jobs.

Each year, an alum is invited to give a keynote address during the event. This year’s keynote speaker is Ted Brady of the Class of 2000. Brady has spent his career in public service, now serving as the executive director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. He previously worked for U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy ’61.

The following Q&A with Brady – a preview to his March 6 remarks – has been lightly edited.

Saint Michael’s College: What role did Saint Michael’s College play in preparing you for your career? 

Ted Brady: St. Mike’s did more than teach me the skills and habits I needed to succeed in my career. It gave me the mindset to think I could be successful, that a career could marry vocation and avocation, and that work was an actual calling of some kind. For me, it was public service — something I knew little about and did little of until my freshman year.

At St. Mike’s, I was immersed in service on Fire & Rescue, took internships with St. Mike’s alumni at the Department of Homeland Security and the Burlington Free Press, and was encouraged by everyone on campus — especially members of the faculty and staff — to get out of my comfort zone. By the time I was hunting for a job, I thought I was ready — something both my parents and I were grateful for.

SMC: What choice or experience from your career would be most valuable for students entering today’s job market?

TB: Lean into building, maintaining, and enjoying professional relationships. Search for an entry-level job that puts you elbow to elbow with successful and ambitious people. Then work as hard as you can to help them succeed.

I worked in U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy’s Office (Class of 1961) for 13 years, both here in Vermont and in D.C. The people I met attending networking events and night meetings over those 13 years built a professional network that has given me the equivalent of a doctorate in Vermont community and economic development. That network not only opened doors for each of my career moves but also showed me the breadth and depth of opportunities for career advancement in Vermont. Someone doesn’t need to “get you a job” to help improve your career. Your network exposes you to opportunities, ideas and experiences you might not have known about.

SMC: What do you enjoy about returning to campus to network with current students?

TB: I have never met a St. Mike’s alumnus I didn’t like, at least at first! I feel an immediate connection to St. Mike’s students and a desire to help them succeed. My EMT instructor freshman year, and the EMT instructor of a generation of St. Mike’s Fire and Rescue members, Pat Malone (also a St. Mike’s alum), frequently said: “The purple line runs long and deep.”

A Saint Michael’s College student speaks to an alumni prospective employer during the career fair portion of Career Connections in 2025. (Photo by Sophie Burt ’26)

SMC: What job search or professional development advice do you have for students?

TB: Use your network. You paid a lot of money to go to St. Mike’s. If you thought you were buying only an education, you’re about to be in for a pleasant surprise: You also got an alumni network that wants you to succeed. In an age of AI-powered resume scrapers and job postings that receive hundreds, if not thousands, of applications, lean into the strength of a network of people that have the purple line running through them.

SMC: What’s the one takeaway you hope students get from your keynote?

TB: I hope my story gives students comfort in knowing it’s OK not to know what you want to do forever. They are already ahead of the game if they graduate from St. Mike’s. Use the tools St. Mike’s has given you, including the network. Find something that interests you to start and lean into it. There’s a good chance that will lead to another opportunity.

Find a full list of Career Connections events here.>>